


The Compromise

by MakingPoetry



Series: Albtraum 2.0 [4]
Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: Gen, excessive magic, teenagers being teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25100629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakingPoetry/pseuds/MakingPoetry
Summary: Reid wakes up. Tyler and Chase go out to the dells to have some fun, then have a surprisingly productive conversation.
Series: Albtraum 2.0 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813285
Kudos: 6





	The Compromise

Tyler's head throbbed when he woke up the next morning, and it tasted like something had died in his mouth. He remembered the previous night in bits and pieces as it slowly came back to him. The kiss, on the other hand, came back all at once in a rush, and he blushed all the way down his chest. For fuck's sake, why had he done that? He wasn't even _friends_ with Chase, and he sure as hell didn't have any kind of feelings for him. Reid would kill him for it. If Reid ever recovered.

Covering his face with his hands, feeling how hot his cheeks were, Tyler groaned. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up _big time_. He was never going to get drunk around Chase ever again. He probably wouldn't even be able to look him in the eye.

He was still lying there in bed when Caleb called.

"Reid's awake."

Tyler sucked in a breath, opening his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. "Is he-"

"He's okay. What happened at that party?"

Tyler's face flushed all over again, and he was glad Caleb wasn't there to see. "It was just a party, Caleb. Nothing _happened_."

"Uh-huh." Caleb didn't sound convinced, but he didn't press the subject right now. "Reid wants to see us, so get dressed."

"Alright."

Tyler took a quick shower, brushed his teeth until the awful feeling went away, and then drove down to the hospital. Pogue and Caleb were already there when Tyler arrived, and Reid was already dressed, ready to get out of there.

Tyler wrapped Reid up in a tight hug first, pressing his face against his shoulder. Reid smelled like hospital and not himself, but he was _awake_ and _okay_ , and Tyler wouldn't trade that for the world. Reid held onto him for a long moment, reluctant to let go, and when he finally did, he squeezed Tyler's shoulder.

"I'm going to fucking kill that bastard," Reid said, keeping his voice down at least.

"It was Chase." It wasn't a question; they were all aware of who'd done it.

"Of course it was Chase. He said he was going to get what he wanted, no matter the cost," Reid said. 'The cost' probably being their lives. Chase had never let human life stop him before.

Caleb looked at Tyler, quietly considering things. If Chase had been holding Reid hostage until he got what he wanted, that meant he'd gotten whatever it was at the party the previous night. He had to have; Chase didn't strike him as the generous type.

"Tyler. You're sure nothing happened?"

All eyes were on him now, and he felt himself flushing again, cheeks going pink.

"Happened when?" Reid asked.

"There was a party," Tyler explained. "Chase and I went, and nothing happened. I got a little drunk is all." Avoiding the truth wasn't quite the same as lying, was it? Even though the truth was bubbling up inside of him, desperate to be freed, like it was going to choke him. This was the closest he'd ever gotten to lying to Caleb, and it was killing him.

"You're seriously going to _parties_ with that fucker?" Reid said incredulously.

Tyler looked hurt. "I didn't have much of a choice," he said. "He was threatening you."

"Reid," Caleb said, "Tyler did what he had to. We were all trying to keep you and him safe."

Reid didn't look convinced, but he didn't press that subject at least. "He didn't do anything, did he? He didn't hurt you?"

Tyler shook his head. "He hasn't done anything to me," he said, truthfully.

"If he does, I'll kill him," Reid said.

"You won't be the only one," Caleb told him, patting him on the back. "Come on; let's go home."

\-----

Chase was waiting for them when Tyler and Reid got back to their room. Reid immediately bristled, and Tyler had barely closed the door before Reid's eyes went black and he tried to throw Chase off of Tyler's bed. Chase deflected the attempt easily, getting up before he slammed Reid against the door.

"Chase, stop," Tyler said, not afraid to get in between them, despite knowing that Reid was reckless when he was angry.

"Stop what, defending myself?" Chase said with a mocking grin.

"I'll fucking-" Reid started, regaining his balance and raising his hands.

Before he could do anything, Chase pinned him to the door again, eyes burning black.

"Relax," Chase said, "I didn't come here to fight."

"Bullshit," Reid said.

Chase ignored him, shifting his attention to Tyler, instead. "Come with me."

Tyler hesitated, glancing from Reid to Chase. "Where?" And why?

"The dells," Chase said.

"Why?"

Chase gave him a look. "Come with me and you'll find out."

"Let him go, first."

Sighing, Chase relinquished his Power's hold on Reid, eyes fading back to blue.

Reid got his feet under him, glaring daggers at Chase, but didn't move to attack him again, no matter how much he clearly wanted to.

Tyler took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll go."

" _Tyler_." Reid was staring at him now, disbelief clear on his face.

Tyler felt guilty, but Chase still had all of the power in this situation. He might have taken his spell off of Reid, but he could kill any of them without barely any effort. Tyler just didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Chase started to lead the way out of the room, but Reid stopped him with a hand tight on his shoulder. "If you lay a hand on him, I _will_ kill you," he said, low and dangerous.

Chase shook himself free, rolling his eyes. "If I was going to hurt him, I would have done it already." He'd had all the time in the world, especially when Tyler had been drunk the night before.

"Just keep that in mind," Reid said, glaring at him.

"Sure." Chase stepped around Reid, opening the door and making sure Tyler was following him before stepping out.

Tyler shot Reid an apologetic look and gave him a quick kiss before following Chase out of the room and into the hallway. They'd have to talk about this later, like, really talk about it, but clearly they didn't have any time right now.

Swallowing, Tyler fell into step next to Chase, glancing over at him. He waited until they were in his Hummer before he said anything, so no one else would overhear.

"About last night..." Tyler started, "And the... you know." The kiss.

"Uh-huh. Let me guess. You were drunk and made a huge mistake," Chase said.

"Yeah. Exactly." Tyler nodded, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"It's fine, I figured."

Relief swept over Tyler, but there was still another point to bring up. "I'd feel better if nobody else knew," he said.

"I figured that, too," Chase said, looking over at him. "Can't have them know you're kissing the enemy, right?"

"Something like that," Tyler muttered, starting the car. "So, why the dells?"

"I told you, you'll find out."

\-----

There was _nothing_ out at the dells. No people, nothing interesting, just trees and dirt.

"There's nothing out here," Tyler said, parking the car.

"Exactly." Chase looked over at him. "Does Caleb let you Use for fun?"

Tyler hesitated. "Kind of? But not really."

"I'm shocked," Chase said, completely deadpan. He was not, in fact, shocked in the slightest. Getting out of the car, he gestured for Tyler to follow him.

Sighing, Tyler slid out of the car, crossing his arms as he lingered a few feet away from Chase. He had an idea about why they were out here, and he was mildly concerned.

Chase didn't seem to care where Tyler stood. He didn't even look at him. Instead, he Used, ripping a dead tree out of the ground and sending it flying, crashing into another tree. It was louder than Tyler had expected, and he flinched back, dodging some dirt and debris that flew through the air.

"This is your idea of fun?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chase shook his head, looking over at Tyler. His eyes were pitch black, and he grinned, raising a hand. Slowly, Tyler lifted into the air, his feet dangling. Gasping, Tyler flailed his arms, expecting to pitch forward, but Chase held him steady. He could feel Chase's Power washing over him, surprisingly gentle, tingling along his skin. He wasn't used to feeling anyone Using on him, and it was...good, actually. It made him feel giddy, along with feeling weightless. It wasn't the first time he'd felt this way, but this was _different_.

Carefully, Chase floated up next to him, still grinning. "Come on, loosen up a little," he said.

Tyler hesitated. This was the opposite of everything Caleb had told them, but Caleb also wasn't here right now. Tentatively, he shifted his attention to their surroundings, his eyes flaring with Power as he picked up the tree Chase had ripped up. Focusing on it, he snapped it in half, sending bark and wood bits flying everywhere. It felt good, made him feel powerful.

"That's it," Chase said, laughing.

With a flick of his wrist, he broke branches off the tree here and there, stabbing them into the ground in front of the two of them, standing them up like a miniature forest.

Tyler followed his lead, breaking down a smaller tree, stripping it of its branches before ripping it out of the dirt. He knew he was playing with fire, probably playing right into Chase's hands, but Using always felt so _good_ , and it wasn't like he was hurting anyone. Nature would grow more trees, and a lot of these looked dead or on their way, anyway.

Taking it a step further, Chase plucked the leaves off of the branches, swirling them through the air, bringing them together until they almost looked like a face before scattering them again. Tyler watched, mesmerized, as the leaves spun around them, more and more joining them until they were in the middle of a tornado of them. There was a lump in his throat when he locked eyes with Chase, and he looked away quickly.

He gathered the leaves in his own Power, waiting until he felt Chase let go of them. Keeping them swirling for another moment, he raised them all above their heads, bringing the leaves together before releasing them in a leaf explosion. The leaves rained down around them, fluttering gently, and a few of them landed in their hair and on their shoulders.

Chase shook them off, flicking away a stubborn one before floating closer to brush the leaves out of Tyler's hair, hand lingering for a moment on the back of his head before he pulled away.

"Catch," he said, and then let go of Tyler all together.

Tyler flailed for a moment, catching himself before he hit the ground, floating back up until he was eye level with Chase. "Not cool, man," he said. He felt...weird without Chase's Power around him anymore, like he was lacking a connection he'd only just discovered.

Chase shrugged, moving closer until he was almost nose to nose with Tyler. "No harm done," he said.

Tyler sailed backwards gently, putting some distance between them. He'd had the strangest feeling that Chase had been going to kiss him, and it made his heart leap into his throat. Last night had been a mistake, and it wouldn't happen again.

Turning away from him, Chase picked up the smaller tree Tyler had ripped up, breaking it in half and tossing one of the halves to Tyler. Tyler scrambled to catch it in his Power, breaking it in half again just because he could.

"You understand, don't you?" Chase said.

Tyler gave him a confused look. "About?"

"Why we're out here, the thrill that comes with Using this Power," Chase clarified.

"It's addictive," Tyler said, stating the obvious. "But it's also fun." Even just fucking up some trees was fun.

Dropping the tree, Chase instead raised all of the branches he'd stuck into the ground, scattering them a little more naturally. "Are you hungry? I'm starving."

"I could eat something, yeah," Tyler said, lowering himself gently to the ground.

"Then let's go eat," Chase said, doing the same.

Stepping over, he leaned in close to Tyler--and Tyler leaned back a little, watching him warily--but Chase only gave him an amused look before pulling a leaf off his sleeve.

"Can't take nature with you."

Tyler backed up a step anyway, bumping into his car, and turned, getting into the driver's seat.

\-----

They were having a surprisingly good conversation when their food arrived. It was a normal, average conversation, not about magic or witches or anything about their secrets. For a few minutes, Tyler had almost forgotten everything Chase had done, and that they weren't just regular teenagers.

"So, then I said--" Tyler broke off as the waitress delivered his burger and fries, smiling. "Thanks--where was I?"

Chase waited until their waitress had walked away, taking a sip of his drink, before reminding Tyler, "You were telling me how you told off Jack for being a dick."

"Right," Tyler said. "So I told him I left my last fuck to give somewhere else and walked away."

Chase snorted. "He was a dick to me, too," he said.

"I think he's like that to everyone." Tyler snagged the ketchup for his fries. "Sometimes I wonder how he has a girlfriend."

Shrugging a shoulder, Chase looked up from his food. "I had a girlfriend, before I transfered," he said. 

The implication that he was a dick too was obvious, but neither of them said anything about it.

"Me, too," Tyler said, though he definitely didn't fall into the dick category. "For a little while, before Reid."

"So you guys _are_ a thing." It was a statement, not a question.

Tyler nodded, focusing on his burger. "Yeah, for about a year now." He wasn't going to bring up Caleb and Pogue; that would make things more complicated, and things were already complicated enough right now.

"He's jealous," Chase said. "Of you spending time with me."

Looking up, Tyler frowned. "Yeah, well, you put him in a coma." He'd be jealous, too.

"It wasn't personal."

"I think we all took it personally," Tyler said.

Chase shrugged. "I knew he wouldn't let me talk to you, is all."

So this _was_ all about Tyler, specifically. For whatever reason, besides being the least likely to start a fight with Chase, he'd been chosen for...whatever this was about. Whatever Chase wanted from him. _Was_ Chase lonely? Was that it? Tyler didn't dare ask, considering how things had gone the first time.

"You're not wrong," Tyler said.

"The real question is, why are you still spending time with me?" Chase said with a raised eyebrow.

Tyler froze, staring down at his food while he thought about that. Obviously, he was here because Chase still had all of the power in this situation and he could lash out at them any time he felt like it, and Tyler was trying to avoid any bloodshed. The other reason...was that Tyler'd actually had a good time today. 

Looking up, he shrugged. "I'm pretty sure you know why. I don't have much of a choice," he said, alluding to the first reason instead of the second one.

"You have a choice," Chase said, "Just tell me you don't want to see me anymore."

Tyler hesitated, picking at his food. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to see Chase anymore, but... "I want you to not hurt the people I care about."

"I can't make any promises. You know how they are." They were all eager to fight Chase at the drop of a hat.

"Then try," Tyler said.

"If they don't start anything, I won't," Chase said.

It wasn't a promise, it wasn't a certainty, but it was better than nothing, and more than Tyler had reasonably expected. In fact, he was surprised that Chase was offering not to start anything with the other guys. It was very...un-Chase-like. Still, Tyler wasn't going to turn it down.

He nodded. "Alright."


End file.
